Successful delivery of new RAstar 3200W series tugboat by Uzmar Shipyards marked by ceremony ahead of vessel’s deployment in the Port of London

Svitzer, a leading global towage provider and part of A.P Moller-Maersk, has announced the successful delivery of Svitzer Estelle, the second tug built as part of the company’s ongoing partnership with Uzmar Shipyards, a world-class tug builder, based in Turkey.

Svitzer Estelle represents another step in Svitzer’s ongoing European fleet modernisation and expansion programme. The newly built, Robert Allan Ltd. designed RAstar 3200W will be deployed by Svitzer on the River Thames and the River Medway, bolstering the company’s operations in the busy Port of London.

The first tug delivered by Uzmar Shipyards in May 2023, Svitzer Elizabeth, is currently in service in the Port of Liverpool. Svitzer’s partnership with Uzmar Shipyards began with the delivery of two tugs for the company’s fleet in Australia. Success over the years has enabled the two businesses to work together to support the safe, efficient, and sustainable delivery of marine towage services.

Svitzer Estelle has a bollard pull of 80 tonnes, and has an L.O.A. of 32 metres, with a beam of 13.2 metres and a depth of 5.5 metres. The RAstar 3200W series tug has a 199m³ fuel capacity and 40m³ freshwater capacity, with Escort Tug and Firefighting1 notation.

The vessel is powered by two Caterpillar 3516E main engines rated at 2525 bkW at 1,800 rpm, with IMO III certified aftertreatment, and has two Kongsberg US255 Z-drives with 2.8m FP propellers.

Speaking on the announcement, Cliff Chow, Svitzer’s London Port Manager, said: “The delivery of the Svitzer Estelle marks a pivotal moment in the continued modernisation of our UK fleet, and will enable us to continue to meet our customers’ demands as well as ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operations. The waters of the Thames and the Medway are dynamic and unique, so we need tugs that can meet and exceed their specific challenges. Just like Svitzer Elizabeth, we are confident that Svitzer Estelle will represent a significant advancement of our capabilities.”

“We’d like to thank the team at Uzmar Shipyards for their ongoing commitment to this partnership and for the completion of another successful project.”

Mr. A. Noyan Altuğ, CEO, Uzmar Shipyards, added: “Today marks not only the delivery of a new tug, but the continuation of our long-term partnership between Uzmar Shipyards and Svitzer. It builds on the success of our delivery of two tugs to Svitzer’s Australian fleet, as well as our ongoing work on Svitzer’s advanced TRAnsverse tug designs. We look forward to continuing our work with Svitzer to make the tugs of the future a reality.”

As Svitzer Estelle is UK-based, the vessel will be able to fall under Svitzer’s EcoTow net-zero carbon harbour towage solution. As part of EcoTow, Svitzer deploys sustainable marine biofuel across its UK fleet to reduce the carbon impact of towage for its customers.